Unit 3

Grammar Reading and Use of English |
1BSU


at, in
PS
on JO
UJNF
QISBTFT
Exam information
1 Complete these sentences from Listening Part 3 by
In Reading and Use of English Part 7, you will read either
writing at, in or on in the gaps.
one long text divided into four to six sections, or four to

We got up late the morning or even the six separate short texts. The total length will be 500–600
afternoon … words. There are ten questions which you must match

Except of course days when it was cloudy. with the different texts or sections.

But night, we were down at the clubs, partying to This part tests your ability to understand specific
the small hours, getting back to the hotel two or information, detail and opinion.
three in the morning.

I went off with a couple of my friends March.
1 Work in groups. You are going to read about four


QBHF

-BOHVBHF
SFGFSFODF
Prepositions – at, in and on in people’s nightmare holidays. Before you read,
time expressions discuss what things sometimes spoil people’s
2 Candidates often make mistakes with at, in holidays.
and on in time phrases. Some of these sentences are
correct. Find and correct the mistakes. 2 Read questions 1–10 carefully and underline the key
words in each question.

I would like to travel on July because it is the perfect
time to go to the camp. 8IJDI
QFSTPO


In the weekends, he only stays at home on Sunday on had to hide from danger? 
the afternoon, because in the mornings he goes to see found an employee intimidating? 2
football games.
was not pleased to spend so long somewhere? 3

At weekends, everything opens in 11.00 a.m.

I would advise you to come in summer because the had visited the country on a previous occasion? 4
weather is great and there are many islands with great worried about how strong something was? 5
beaches.

She graduated from Cambridge University at 2008. missed speaking to people? 6

So I prefer shopping on weekdays unless I am busy or had a painful experience? 7
have an appointment.

The traffic makes us nervous, particularly in certain travelled with an ex-criminal? 8
times of the day when the roads are busy. was unaware of the danger in what they 

We used to go to the beach at the morning in a normal were doing?
day, and clubbing every night.
realised the holiday might be a mistake 
before arriving?

3 For questions 1–10, choose from the people (A–D).

Each person may be chosen more than once.

4 Work in groups. Which of the holidays sounds the

worst to you? Take turns to tell each other about a
memorable holiday you have had. Then decide which
of you had the most interesting holiday.

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My nightmare holiday!
A Pauline Vernon – Malaysia
My dad was teaching in Kota Bharu, Malaysia. When my
mum and I flew out to visit him for three weeks, he had
already organised our stay in great detail. On our first
evening we had a party on the beach. It was an idyllic
scene: a beautiful empty beach, palm trees, white sand, the
warm gentle waters of the South China Sea. I swam in the
shallow water thinking “this is the life”, when a jellyfish
swam between my legs. The sting, on both legs, was agony,
C Cat O’Donovan – the USA
and it was only then I discovered that two people had died
from jellyfish stings that year and until that point, no
one had bothered to mention the sea-snakes, for whose
bite there is no cure. I now understood why the beach was
deserted.
D Graham Whitely – Nepal
B Sandy Henderson – the USA
I was on a camping holiday in Yosemite National Park
in California with a friend, when I awoke to the sound of
screaming. I looked out of my tent and saw my friend trying
to get out of his sleeping bag, with a giant black bear rearing
up behind him. Quite possibly the quickest I’ve ever got out
of bed, I scrambled up and we both sprinted in no particular
direction. By pure chance, we’d passed a small cabin a little
way back on the trail and we made a dash for that, jumped
inside and locked the door. Seconds later, the bear was
scraping at the door as we cowered inside, afraid that the
whole thing might fall off. After quite a long time, the bear lost
interest and we were able to leave the shelter.
Happy holidays?
Twenty-three hours into an epic bus trip across the States, I
began to wonder what I had let myself in for. I was at Denver bus
station, sitting on my backpack, drinking coffee. Before boarding
the first bus in LA, I had been filled with romantic ideas of
friendship among the passengers and fascinating stops, as well as
spectacular scenery. After the guy next to me had finished talking
about his time in jail, I realised my expectations were a bit off.
After all, I was 17 and travelling alone.
I had no idea when the next bus was, so I went up to the counter
to ask. One unfriendly staff member was so large I feared she had
eaten several passengers, so I waited until her colleague was free.
“Three-and-a-half hours,” she said. I groaned. Would I ever reach
New York? I sat back down to drink my coffee.
It was not my first walking holiday to Nepal, but for some
reason I no longer remember, I decided to go several weeks
before the walking season actually began. There were no other
walkers on the flight to Kathmandu, which suggested I might
not have made the best decision. Walking to my empty hotel
through rainy streets on the first night, I tried not to think
what conditions would be like at higher altitudes.
Next day I flew to Tumlingtar to start walking up the remote,
rarely visited Arun valley. As I climbed, the bushes on either
side of the path were covered in ice and the weather was
constantly cloudy. The lodges where I stayed were run by
people who spoke no English, and the only meal available was
boiled rice with lentil soup.
Each day required at least
eight hours of unpleasant
solitary walking, longing
for a conversation with
someone. During all the long
walk towards Kathmandu, it
continued cloudy and I never
even saw a mountain.
35
 Language reference

Prepositions We use on:

t
to talk about a position in contact with a surface:
at, in BOE
on
JO
UJNF
FYQSFTTJPOT
There’s an insect on your forehead.
We use at with: She lay on the beach all day.
t
points of time: t
with coast, road to, the outskirts of, the edge of, border, the
at three o’clock, at the end of the lesson, at midnight way to/from, etc:
t
mealtimes: We can stop at my village, which is on the way to Madrid.
We can meet at breakfast. t
with means of transport apart from cars and taxis (see above):
t
the weekend, Christmas and Easter: I always get frightened on planes.
Why don’t we go to the cinema at the weekend
t
GPS
UFDIOPMPHZ
t
night when talking about nights in general: He’s been on the phone for hours.
I prefer to study at night because it’s quieter. I found out about it on Facebook.
t
with left and right:
/PUF
on the weekend is common in American English. Talk to the student on your right.
We use in: t
with premises, farm, floor, island and list:
t
for periods of time: It’s on the fifth floor.
in 2014, in April, in the summer, in the 19th century You’re not on my list of students for this class.
t
for parts of the day:
Paola often has a short sleep in the afternoon. (But Paola
slept for two hours on Sunday afternoon. See below.) at in on
t
to say the period of time before something happens or at your/my house in the world on the beach
how long something takes: at the festival in the city on the/a train
I’ll be going to university in six weeks’ time. at the party in the mountains on the island
He did the writing task in just 13 minutes. at the theatre in the country on the/a farm
at the/your hotel in the town on the outskirts
We use on:
at the concert in the sky on the floor
t
for particular dates, days, parts of days or types of days:
at my school in the hotel on the stage
He was born on July 13th.
at the camp in a car on the bus
What are you doing on Sunday night?
at the university in this area on the road(s)
I got married on a sunny day in August.
at the beach in the countryside on the plane
at, in BOE on
UP
FYQSFTT
MPDBUJPO at the airport in the street
at the seaside in the sea
We use at: in traffic jams
t
when we think of a place as a point, not an area (including
at home, at school, at work, at university):
The postman is at the front door. Relative pronouns and relative
t
to talk about an event with a number of people:
I’ll see you at the party tonight!
clauses
t
for addresses: A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a
The party is at 367 Wood Avenue. verb in a tense which form a sentence or part of a sentence.
Relative clauses start with these relative pronouns: who,
We use in:
which, that, whose, where, when and why.
t
when we think of a place as an area or space:
Olga lives in St Petersburg. relative clause
Sonia lives in a large house in the country.
The man who phoned you is my doctor.
t
for cars and taxis:
I love listening to music when I’m in the car. %Fm
OJOH
SFMBUJWF
DMBVTFT
t
normally with in class, in hospital, in prison, in court:
Patrick is in hospital with a broken leg. Relative clauses which tell us which particular person or
t
with people or things which form lines: thing the speaker is talking about are called defining relative
We stood in the ticket queue for four hours. clauses. They give essential information:
t
for the world: The doctor who treated me is my cousin.
He’s reputed to be one of the richest men in the world. The relative clause tells us which doctor we are talking about.
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